


why is everyone always in the wrong place at the wrong time?

by OceanSwiftie



Category: X Files
Genre: Breakfast, Dancing, F/M, First Time, Humor, They Finally Get Together, at home, at work, bagels for lunch, melissa has a field day when she knows, skinner has had enough of them, they love each other but don’t want to admit it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27404338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanSwiftie/pseuds/OceanSwiftie
Summary: Mulder and Scully love each other in secret, she is having conflicted feelings, and finally they get together, he gets bagels for lunch. Skinner catches them kissing in the basement, he has them sign a bureau relationship policy sheet, because they get on his nerves all the time and he has had enough.  Melissa comes over and has a field day when she sees the two of them together.
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully
Kudos: 17





	why is everyone always in the wrong place at the wrong time?

**Author's Note:**

> It’s about the first time they confess feelings for each other. I wish that they could have made a scene where skinner walks in on them kissing. And Scully deserves way more than just a desk, she gets kidnapped or held hostage almost every episode. I think that if Melissa hadn’t died, then she would have had them get together sooner.

The window was slightly open. 

It was a normal day at the Edgar J. Hoover FBI building in Washington D.C. 

Scully sits at the desk, in a chair borrowed from the storage closet because, believe it or not, she still did not have a desk. She at least deserved that, considering how many times she had gotten kidnapped or been held hostage during a case. 

She sighs, trying to concentrate on the file she is currently reviewing. Mulder is shifting through paperwork and fiddling with his pencil. A pile of sunflower seed shells has collected on the wooden desktop. 

“ Do you know where the first pencil was made, Scully?” She sighs again. “ Pennsylvania”, he says jokingly. “ You’re a riot, Mulder.”  
“ What’s wrong, usually you laugh” he says looking up from the papers. 

She looks out the window, then at the clock. “ Well, it’s just, we should go out and do something, enjoy the nice day, not be stuck inside the basement doing paperwork.  
And also, that’s totally not true. Your jokes are the worst.  
“ Hey! But yeah, trust me, I know, it sucks”. Mulder gives a knowing smile. 

He hesitates, then says: “ Hey, it’s almost time for lunch. I’ll go and grab something for us to eat, okay?”  
“ Sure, thanks”. That had improved her mood.

“ Be back in a bit”, he says slipping on his coat, it is still a little cold, despite the fact that the sun is shining through the window. He goes out the door, closing it softly behind him, leaving her lost in thought. 

Lately, she has been having mixed thoughts about Mulder. Especially since he had said “ I love you”, a couple of weeks ago. Okay he had been sick, a fever of 103, so she went over to help, cool him down and get him to bed. Maybe his brain had been a little jumbled, but still.

It was like she had woken up one day and the person who was just a friend, was now suddenly the only person she could ever imagine spending the rest of her life with

. At first she thought he had been self-centred and annoying, she had called him a jerk, but he wasn’t any of those things at all. ( she still didn’t understand why he believed in such crazy theories when there was scientific evidence to prove them wrong.) He was caring and kind, looking after her, always, and she wouldn’t change a day. Well, maybe she could have lived without seeing the flukeman. 

Sometimes they would go out to a bar or restaurant after work. It was not a date or at least she tried to convince herself it wasn’t. So why did her heart beat so fast every time he talked to her, when they glanced at each other, sparks flew?

Agent Jones and agent Kendall probably didn’t meet in the park or go to each other’s apartment to eat takeout or sit on the couch and watch movies. She definitely didn’t “accidently” steal one of his t-shirts and then wear it to bed, so she could smell the scent of it and fall asleep better. Scully blushes as that realization hits. 

This morning, Mulder had knocked at the door and they had breakfast together. 

“ Hi, what’s up. You came really early”. She tried to smooth out her purple silk pyjamas and ran a hand through her hair. 

“ Is that a problem? I just wanted to spend time with you, I guess”, he shrugs, indifferent. “ Uh, it’s fine. Come on in”, she motioned, tilting her head to the side. She smiled happily and led him into the kitchen. 

She started the coffee machine, and poured some into two mugs when it was ready. One of them was a gift from Mulder, for her birthday, yes, he had remembered it, surprisingly enough.  
It said “ never trust atoms, they make up everything.” It made her laugh. The other was actually Mulder’s alien mug, but somehow it ended up at her house, in her cupboard, which seemed to happen often with his things. 

She put cream and sugar, the way they both like that. They sat at the kitchen counter, sipping their drinks. 

“Thanks for coming over and having breakfast with me, it’s nice to have company. “ Yeah, also your kitchen is way nicer than mine.” There were flowers on the table and a prism hung by the window spun, rainbow colors dancing across the wall. 

“ You should use the waffle maker”, he said. “ Oh, that? My mom bought it for me. I mean, I guess I could. How do you even know I had one?” “ I saw it when I was here last time.” “ Do you want to use it?” “ Yeah, it’ll be fun.” Plus, he had opened her fridge and she barely had anything.“ Okay, but I thought you weren’t a breakfast person.” 

Mulder plugged it in, while Scully searched for a waffle batter recipe. “ Found it”, she said, brandishing it triumphantly.

“ Are you sure you can do this or is it too hard”, she teased him. “ Ha, ha very funny.” “ It’s a well known fact that you can’t cook for your life. Remember when you tried to make lasagna for me and practically burned down the house.”  
As it turned out, he spilled the batter all over the place and burnt his finger. “ Ow”, he exclaimed, quickly turning on the tap to cold and running the water over his finger. “ What happened”, she asks. “Nothing.” She rolled her eyes and went to get a bandage wrap, bumping her hip against his. 

They ate the waffles with maple syrup and butter. “ It’s good. Nice job. Are you still on a diet? Because you don’t need to. You’re beautiful to me, Scully”. The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. He didn’t know why. 

Her eyebrows shot straight up and her cheeks reddened visibly. “ Not really”, she mumbled. She didn’t know what to say. “ But… thanks”, she said sheepishly.  
She was self conscious most of the time. Like if her tummy was too big or if her lips should be fuller. 

Mulder couldn’t see how because to him, she was the most beautiful person he had ever met, with her ruby lips, creamy skin, deep blue eyes and shiny red hair, the color of fire, the way it danced in the breeze. How could she not see that? He wishes he could tell her that, to kiss all her worries away. He wants to make her feel special, like she is the only one in the world. 

Mulder is standing in line at the bagel shop. He scans the menu: Bagel sandwiches $3.20, even though it is not needed because he already knows what he will order. Maybe he’ll get brownies for dessert and hopefully she will at least bite off a square. “Next please”, says the cashier. Realising there is a huge gap in front of him, he moves up. 

As he pays, he has an idea. “ Can you write a note on this bag?” “ Um, okay, is it for your wife?” “ No, my friend.”  
People always mistake them as a couple, so often that they don’t mind anymore, don’t even bother correcting them most of the time.

The door opens, papers on the floor flutter to the ground, interrupting her train of thought. She leans down to pick them up. 

“ I got your favorite: bagel sandwiches from the deli nearby, just down the street”, Mulder says waving the bags at her.

She smiles at him as he opens a brown paper bag, stretching out his long legs under the table. She scoots her chair closer to his, until they are almost touching. There has never been any personal space between them. 

She reaches into the bag and stops. On the bag there is something written with black ink. “ Scully” with a heart next to it and “ xoxo”. She raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything. Secretly, she thinks it’s nice. 

Sure enough, he remembered the kind she likes. A plain bagel with cream cheese, cucumber and lettuce. He has a cheese bagel with egg and ham. 

Mulder crinkles his bag and puts it into a ball, throwing it into the small white trash, but it bounces off the rim. “ Oh dang, miss”, he says. She shakes her head. He always tells bad jokes, saving the best or in that case, the worst, for her. 

He looks at her with his big hazel eyes, it gets her every time, and she holds his gaze, then adverts her eyes to her lap, before she can think it was love that she saw in them. 

She frowns as he puts a hand on her leg. Slowly, her hand goes to rest on top of his. “ Mulder, I… we’ve been closer than usual these days and, I don’t know.” 

She tried to forget about the comment he had said earlier in the day, but no. Why did things have to be so complicated? He was a good friend to her, someone she relied on, put all her trust in him. 

Her friends teased her all the time, she heard the whispers, rumors that circulate about “ Mr. and Mrs. Spooky.” Usually she just ignored that. “ Sorry, um, you can tell me if it’s not okay or too much.” Mulder’s heart sank like a stone. Dang it. He messed up. Of course. 

“ No, no I like it. I like you. I just have mixed feelings right now”, she answers quickly. What, Dana! Are you kidding me, I like you? Seriously, you sound like a 12 year old who has a school crush. She changes the subject before he can say anything else. 

They talk about everything and nothing. 

“ Oh, also I got brownies for dessert. He pushes them towards her and she takes one, breaking it in half. 

He gets up and puts an Elvis Presley CD in his red stereo, putting his hand out toward her. She is surprised, but she takes his hand in hers and he pulls her into the middle of the room. 

Their lunch is half finished, abandoned on the table.

They dance slowly, rocking back and forth, hand in hand, looking into each other’s eyes, getting lost in translation. She wants to remember this moment, capture it like a picture in her mind. The music plays in the background. Scully puts her head on his chest, it rises up and down, his heartbeat pounding in her ear. 

They sit back down and he wraps his arms around her. She leans close, engulfed by his scent. He smells like bagels, coffee, aftershave and like Mulder, that certain scent that he has. It comforts her and honestly, she is so happy right now.

“ Hmm, Dana”, he whispers into her ear. She draws back, he wipes cream cheese from the corner of her mouth. 

And then, they are inches away from each other and she doesn’t know who leaned in first, but her lips are on his, they taste like velvet, he is such a good kisser. She runs her hands through his brown hair, it flops back onto his forehead. 

His hand is wrapped around her waist, their bodies are pressed together, they slam into the file cabinets, something falls and shatters, but they don’t care at all. 

She puts her hands in his pockets. 

Her lips are plush, her tongue is clumsy but it’s fine, she will have plenty more times to learn, and he forgets that Phoebe or Diana ever existed.

Skinner knocks at the door. What are they doing? They are supposed to be at a meeting in 5 minutes, he mutters. 

He grabs the handle and his mouth drops open in shock because they are kissing, up against the file cabinet, intertwined together. Figures, he scoffs. “ Agents Mulder and Scully, I hope I’m not interrupting anything”. He glares at them, aggravated. 

They pull apart and Scully is so red in the face that it matches her hair. It is probably the most embarrassing thing ever. 

She moves away from Mulder, eyes cast downward on the floor. He straightens his tie and wipes lipstick off this mouth. She rubs the back of her neck uncomfortably. 

“ Sir, … we can explain”, they say at the same time. 

Skinner has had enough of them. They get on his nerves everyday. 

Always touching when they thought no one was looking, gazing at each other with dreamy eyes. 

Scully had been assigned to debunk the X-Files, not to become his partner and continue investigating with him. And now he had a lot more problems with the government that he wanted.

“ Come to my office now. This is unacceptable! I will not tolerate this anymore. In case you can’t remember you should both be in a meeting right now, but never mind about that!”, he practically yells, exasperated. He feels like a father scolding his children. He cannot believe their behaviour. “ I hate this job”, he says to himself.

If it was a cartoon, steam would definitely be coming out of his ears. “ No sir, there is nothing going on between us. “We’re just partners, friends”, he remembers they had said that before. 

They walk slowly down the hallway and reach his office. He tells them to sit. Mulder realises he still hasn’t cleaned up or turned off the CD, but he doesn’t have the guts to ask right now. Scully picks at the cushion of the blue chair with her fingernail, wishing she could disappear. 

“ We need to discuss your relationship”, Skinner says in a no-nonsense tone. “ A few weeks ago, you told me that there was no romance whatsoever. Now after what I just witnessed, I’m not sure that is the case anymore.” 

“Uh oh, are we in trouble?”, he whispers into her ear. She tries not to laugh, despite the situation, a small smile tugs at the corner of her lips. 

“ Is there something funny, agent Scully?”, Skinner asks. “ No sir, not at all, and um, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” 

He sighs, taking off his round glasses and setting them on his desk, rubbing a hand over his face. “ I’m not saying that you cannot be together, but you know that in office relationships are frowned upon for many reasons. They can make working on cases difficult. 

You will need to read and sign both of your names on some papers, a bureau policy.

Also, I do not want anything like that while you are in the building. This is for work only. “ Yes sir”, they both say quickly. 

He rummages around and pulls out some forms. He hands them the papers, then, after looking them both firmly in the eye, let’s them go to their meeting. They are twenty minutes late.

“ Hey, guess what? They finally got together! … kissing in the basement. I know right. Took them forever to realise.” That is the conversation that endures in the break room, while agents are drinking coffee, which spreads fast. “ Congratulations, heard you got the girl, huh Mulder”, someone says. “ How do they know already?” “ Dunno.” 

Later, her keys jangling, she arrives home, Mulder has dropped her off, like he usually does, except this time he comes inside with her. His car is parked by the curb. 

They spend the evening reading the forms and sign them, while watching a blockbuster movie. They finish a bottle of red wine between themselves. 

She starts to yawn, getting tired and so he carries her to the bedroom. She emerges from the bathroom, after stripping off her work clothes. 

“ Is that my shirt? I’m glad you're putting it to good use as pyjamas, and I was just wondering where it was.” It is a light grey ralph lauren cotton shirt, but for her it is like a dress. She giggles probably because they had just a little too much to wine, but still, it’s cute. Usually, she is so serious, almost never swears.

He takes a quick shower. On the bed, she lays down on her side, propped up on her elbows. “ Damn, you’re so beautiful Scully. Do you know that? I hope you do”, he says. She grabs his hand and they stay like that, holding hands, hers are so small compared to his.  
He strokes her cheek with his thumb and cups her face, they lay down, moving in synchrony, together, as he puts a leg over her and snuggles close. Her body fits perfectly into his side, like a missing puzzle piece now complete. 

He sneaks off in the middle of the night, but stops and watches her from the door frame for a couple of minutes. She is sleeping peacefully, her cheek smushed against a pillow. He does not want to disturb her, she looks like an angel. What was he thinking? He is kidding himself because he is a mess and will never be able to have her. He is not good enough, she deserves so much more than him, than this. So he leaves, car headlights leading him back to his apartment. 

He never considered it to be his home, just a place to sleep ( or a least his couch was), rest, eat and work late all night, because before Scully, everyone had told him to get a life. But this is a normal life, he would tell them. 

Suddenly the couch feels lumpy and he can feel every spring poking his back. Honestly, Scully’s bed was much better, more comfortable. But he knows they weren’t ready, but it’s all good. He hopes she will understand why. He notices his apartment is gloomy and dim all of a sudden. Or has it always been that way?

He gets up to feed the fish and stares at the tank.

In a split second decision, he goes back to her house. When he arrives, she is waiting for him. “ Why did you run?”, she asks softly. “ I want to be with you, to love you. But… you deserve the world Scully, and I don’t have anything to give.” “ Yes you do, you gave me trust, your time and love. I want you Mulder, so much. I have been waiting for this a long time. Please stay with me tonight and all the others too”, she says, touching his arm. 

So they spend the remainder of the night together. He wants to know her, memorize every curve, imperfections and all.  
Her skin is so soft. 

In the morning, she wakes up with a glow of light shining through the curtains.“ Morning”, he whispers. She hums, feeling sleepy and cozy in his arms.

It is Saturday, so they don’t have anything to do…but then, she sits up with a start, putting a stop to the blissful atmosphere.  
Because, for one, Melissa was supposed to come over today, and two, she hears the doorbell ringing. 

She dashes out of bed, stumbling onto the carpet and pulling on some clothes strewn across the floor. “ What is it, Scully”, he mumbles sleepily. Sure enough, through the eyehole, Melissa is there, shuffling her ankle boots on the doormat. 

She opens the olive green colored door. “ Hi Danes, so nice to see you again, I missed you so much. Did you forget I was coming and slept in?”, her sister says, smiling. Dana is standing in his grey t-shirt and pink shorts. “ Um, yeah, something like that. I can’t wait to talk Missy, but I need to get changed, okay?” 

Mulder emerges from the back, in a pair of navy blue jeans and no shirt on. Melissa smirks “ What were you saying? You slept in or something…”  
Scully blushes and makes a gesture at him, widening her eyes. Ugh, why is everybody always in the wrong place at the wrong time?

He waves and then quickly darts back into the bedroom. They emerge a few minutes later, fully clothed. 

“Oh, Fox, you can stay if you want. I don’t mind.” He nods.

“ I can’t believe you finally found someone. I’m so happy for you guys. Finally! I can’t wait to tell Mom you got together.”

Great, Missy is going to have a field day about this one, she thinks. I will probably get teased for a while.

“ Well, don’t tell Mom just yet. And I don’t think Dad will approve one bit.” 

“ Okay, if you say so. I told you he was handsome, totally boyfriend material”, she says, her voice dropping to a whisper. “ Missy! Come on, stop.”

“ What? I knew it, since that day in the hospital. There was an aura, a connection between you two. He thought he would lose you, seeing you like that, hooked up to all those machines, he was broken, grieving for you. He was drunk one night. And, Danes, he wore your necklace, kept it as a reminder, a memory. He almost gave up hope. You mean everything to him. You’re all he has. It was love he felt for you, I could feel it, stronger than ever.”


End file.
